Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes and Cherry Blossoms
by Zerodea
Summary: Honey and Tadashi love each other, but they'll never tell anyone else. They won't even tell each other. Hiro and Gogo slowly come to terms with what it means to love someone romantically. Tadashi is 21, Hiro is 17. TadaHoney centric, some HiroGo.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Man. I've been working on this for about 3 weeks now. It's by no means perfect, but I really wanted to get this out there. I apologize if characters seem a little…OOC. I tried my best but I'm not sure how it really turned out. I think it's okay, but in the end you guys are the judges of that. Please let me know if there's anything I should change. Writing style, character personalities, locations, anything I should add in the future, etc. Any reviews will be greatly appreciated. This is my first work that I'm putting out there for people other than professors or classmates to read. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Please let me know if it's coherent, I tried my best haha.  
** _ **Italics**_ **are character thoughts, usually those of the person talking, will be otherwise indicated if not.  
** **Bold zeroes between paragraphs indicate transitions  
Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6 or any of the characters therein. I only own my story. Big Hero 6 is the property of Disney/Pixar animation studios.  
** _ **  
**_ **  
That being said, please enjoy the first chapter!**

The winter season was in full swing, snow was falling, and the temperature was plummeting by the hour. Hiro didn't mind, in fact, he loved this time of year. He had so much time to himself because school was out, but he never really had anything to do, so he would take walks by himself in the park near the café as one of his major pastimes.

In fact, he was on one of those walks now.

Hiro smiled silently and continued walking through the park, stopping only to take in the view of the icy wonderland the winter season had left behind.  
"I love this weather, it's so…peaceful." Hiro sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, quietly enjoying the view.

A figure approached from behind, making as little noise as possible.  
"Hey Hiro! What are you doing out here in the cold?" Shouted the figure, obviously trying to startle poor Hiro.

Hiro jumped, turning to look at whoever startled him.

"Gogo! Wha-what are you doing out here?" He asked, blushing slightly after he saw her face.

"Looking for you, genius." Gogo replied, matter-of-factly, popping her gum. She always seemed to be chewing some kind of gum. It made Hiro curious as to why she was almost always chewing some, but he figured that now wasn't the time to ask.

"O-oh, I see. Well, Tadashi should have told you I was out here. I mean, I made sure everyone knew where I was going. But, I have to ask, why did they send you?"

"I was just wondering where you went. Wanted to check up on you."

"Ah. I see." Hiro turned a bit redder, and he hoped that Gogo would think it was because he was cold. "Did she really come outside in the freezing weather just to see me? Maybe she- no, no, of course not, she's 3 years older than me. She'd never…" He thought quietly to himself.

"You're pretty red there genius." Hiro tensed up slightly when he heard her voice, he was pretty caught up in his own thoughts, and Gogo's voice jolted him back to reality. "You should come back inside, everyone is waiting for you." Hiro hoped she didn't see him exhale after she said that.

"Yeah, I-I'll be there in a bit, just gotta think some things over. That's the whole reason I came out here anyway." Hiro replied, calming down a bit more.

Gogo eyed him out a bit more, but eventually eased up on the poor boy. "Alright. Don't stay out too long. Your aunt would throw a fit if you got sick this close to Christmas."

Hiro chuckled. He knew Aunt Cass worried way too much, but he understood that it was just because she loved him. "I know. I'll be in soon."

With that, Gogo popped her gum again, turned around, and headed back towards the café. Hiro could have sworn that he saw her smile behind the rather large bubble she was blowing. He'd definitely have to ask her what kind of gum that was.

 **000**

Back inside the café, the atmosphere was bustling. Aunt Cass was moving back and forth from the counter to the little preparation table behind the pastry rack at inhuman speeds. She was just about to fill her hundredth cream puff of the evening when Gogo walked in through the front door.

"Gogo!" Aunt Cass exclaimed. "Where's Hiro?"

"He's coming. He just wanted to hang out in the snow for a bit."

"Ugh, sometimes I wonder how I put up with that boy. If he gets sick I'll throw a fit!"

Tadashi, who had been behind the counter helping Aunt Cass, decided to speak up.  
"Don't worry Aunt Cass, he'll be fine. He's 17 now, after all. Plus he's a genius. Isn't that right, Gogo?" Poking fun at the nickname she had given Hiro some 3 years ago.

Gogo was caught off guard and began to flush slightly. "No. He's a dork. But he's no idiot. He'll be back soon." She huffed out, perhaps a little louder than she had hoped.

Tadashi, satisfied with his little joke, smiled, and continued helping behind the counter. On the opposite end of the café, Fred, Wasabi, and Honey Lemon were all cleaning tables, taking orders, and doing everything that Aunt Cass couldn't do herself. Gogo began walking over to them with a spare bucket and cleaning towel.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" Asked Gogo, clearly confused as to what she was supposed to be doing.

"Ah, Gogo! Welcome. Fred and Wasabi are taking orders to and from the tables. You and I are just going to be cleaning." Honey explained.

"Gotcha." Replied Gogo dryly.

"Cheer up Gogo! I'm sure Hiro will be back soon!"

"I-bu-what!? Who said anything about hi- that dork?"

Honey giggled. "Oh, please. Don't act like you're not worried. He's our friend. He'll be back soon."

"Oh. That's…what you meant. Right."

"What did you think I meant, Gogo?" asked Honey innocently.

"No-nothing. Nothing at all."

"Hmm. Alright then. You're acting strange today."

With that, Gogo and Honey continued to clean the tables for the constant stream of customers coming in.

It used to be rare to see the café this busy. Now it was an almost weekly occurrence. Of course, the gang would always help. They were happy to. Wasabi in particular, for whatever reason. Most of the group assumed it was because he liked to play with his plasma blades, pretending he was a master chef-ninja, cutting fruit and the like with his hands. They weren't wrong.

He'd never, ever admit that, however.

 **000**

Hiro was starting to feel the cold now, his nose stung considerably, and his jacket no longer kept him warm. He decided it was time to head back to the café. The sun had been down for about an hour at this point, but a quick glance at his watch told him it was only just past 6 PM. He shuddered, feeling the biting winter air pierce through his jacket as he trudged his way back to the café.

Back in the café, things were starting to quiet down, there were still quite a few people, but the line was gone, and the remaining patrons could sit down and enjoy their food quietly.

Aunt Cass sighed with a little bit of relief and sadness. She was tired from serving customers all day, but she loved doing it. Now that she was done, she couldn't help but feel sad that it was over.

"Aunt Cass!" called Fred from the opposite end of the room near a large refrigerator.

"Yes Fred?" She called back.

"Can I have a cream puff? They look delicious!"

Aunt Cass chuckled to herself, "Of course you can Fred! You've certainly earned it today!"

"Awesome!" And with that, Fred grabbed the biggest cream puff he could find, and unceremoniously bit into it, clearly enjoying himself.

"You know, you all worked hard today. Help yourselves to the pastries. There's only a few left, and I don't think we'll be selling any more tonight. Don't want them to get stale." Aunt Cass said to the group of young adults.

A tired but happy cheer passed through the group as they all began searching for a pastry they wanted to eat.

Tadashi went first. He reached for the last pineapple upside-down cake, being extra careful not to pinch it too hard, as it was very soft, and the syrup covering it was not doing anything for the structural integrity. He was just about to barely pull it off the wax paper, when he noticed another set of eyes watching the cake intently.

"Honey?" He asked.

"Hmm? Yes, Tadashi?" She replied.

"Did you…want this cake?"

Tadashi immediately saw her eyes flash with happiness for a second, before it went away, and she said, in her usual, chipper voice, "Oh, no no, it's yours, I couldn't take it from you."

"Honey, you can have it if you want. I don't mind." Tadashi couldn't help but think about how pretty she was, even though she was tired and sweaty from cleaning tables all day. Her beautiful golden hair, flowing like a serene river over her shoulders, and her gently tanned skin, like beautiful, golden caramel, with just a slight reflection from sweat, and her beautiful green eyes, like priceless emeralds of the finest quality, he could easily get lost looking into them.

Tadashi couldn't help but think she looked stunning. Not that she didn't always look stunning. Gosh, how he wished to kiss her lips, he imagined they were soft, like a cloud, but warm, like a blanket. His mind trailed off, and he had yet to realize that he was staring directly into Honey's eyes.

"Um…Tadashi?" Her voice snapped him out of his fantasy world.

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry, I uh, totally spaced out there."

"I see. You might want to check your hands."

Tadashi gave her a puzzled look. His hands? Why would he need to check his hands?  
Then he felt it. The sticky syrup was dripping through his fingers, and the cake was beginning to crumble. He had lost track of what he was doing as his dessert had been ruined.

Tadashi looked at the cake dejectedly, frowning a little more than he really should have been for something so small. But Honey started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Tadashi asked, genuinely curious.

"It's just…your face… you looked like a sad puppy! So brilliant, yet so absentminded! It's just the best!" She replied, through fits of uncontrolled giggling. He loved hearing her laugh. When he had first met her in high school he remembered hearing her laugh, and he loved it just as much back then as he did now.  
He really did love her. As much as he refused to admit it to anyone else, he couldn't deny it to himself. He loved her, everything about her, who she was, and what she meant to him. He thought about everything, and knew that having it stay the way it was would be best. Her laughter was infectious, and he couldn't help but start to laugh along.

Honey noticed too. She noticed how his nose would crinkle a little when he smiled, how his cheeks would flush just a little, and how his eyes betrayed how big his smile would be before his mouth even moved. She noticed everything, and she loved it all. But she'd never tell him that. She didn't want to lose a friend if he didn't feel the same way. She was more or less content with how things were, and she didn't intend to change that, so she simply continued to laugh along with Tadashi.

Tadashi, who was just starting to calm down his fits of laughter, realized that he should probably put the cake down. He found a clean plate, and placed the cake down on it, and headed for the sink to wash his hands. Honey followed behind him.

"You finally decide to clean yourself up?" She giggled again.

"I figured I might as well, since you would never let me forget if I didn't." He replied in a joking manner, continuing to wash his hands.

"Right you are, Tadashi!"

He chuckled again, looking at Honey and smiling brightly. He looked her in the eyes, and flicked some excess water from his hands at her playfully.

She laughed loudly, "So is that how you wanna play it? Alright then!" She stuck her hands under the running water and threw a whole handful at him, soaking the front of his shirt.

"Hey!" Tadashi chuckle-shouted. He reached for the sink, and did the same to Honey.

The two continued splashing water at each other, missing, for the most part, and making a mess in the washing area.

While the two of them were lost in their own little world, the bell above the door chimed.

 **000**

Hiro stepped inside, lower calves covered in half-melted snow, and shoes soaked completely through. It had started snowing more on his way back from the park, and his jet-black hair was specked with white.

"I'm back." He sighed, brushing the snow from his jacket and hair.

"Hiro! Welcome home!" Aunt Cass was the first to respond, much more cheery than she was a few seconds ago.

"Hey genius." Said Gogo, popping her gum.

"Are you still chewing that same piece of gum from when I last saw you?" asked Hiro.

"Yup."

"Interesting. Has it lost its flavor?"

"Nope, it's a special kind of gum Honey developed for me. It never loses its flavor. Although, after about 16 hours it kinda starts falling apart."

"That's pretty cool, actually. Remind me to ask her if I can have some."

Gogo nodded, and resumed looking for pastries with Wasabi and Fred.

Hiro pulled off his hoodie since the inside of the café was rather warm compared to outside, and he didn't want to start sweating. He strolled over to the counter and sat down on the middle stool. Leaning his head on the countertop, he noticed he hadn't seen Tadashi or Honey when he came in. Curious, he leaned over the counter and began rotating his head slowly from left to right, looking for any signs of them. His eyes glanced toward the sink, which was hidden out of sight from the front of the café, and he saw them. The two of them were laughing hysterically, both of them were soaked, and the floor was a mess. Hiro was smiled a little, but then realized that he should probably tell them to stop before they slip and get hurt.

"Hey you two! Be careful back there, it's slippery!" Hiro yelled.

As if on cue, Tadashi's foot hit a wet spot, and he slipped. Honey, who was standing right in front of him, fell down as well.

Hiro sighed. "I tried to tell you two." Leaning his head on his right hand.

Honey was on top of Tadashi, their faces only a few inches apart. Even though she was tan, her blush was clearly visible. Tadashi, who, by comparison, was much paler, was also quite red in the face.

"Are you alright Tadashi?" Honey asked, more than a little squeakily.

 _She smells incredible. Oh my goodness._ "Uh…yeah! I'm fine. You okay, Honey?"

"Yes, I'm alright. Sorry about that." _He's so close! I hope he can't smell my sweat! Eep!_

Tadashi pushed himself up off the floor, and Honey sat up as well, both of their faces clearly much redder than normal.

"Oh boy." Hiro said from behind the counter.

 **000**

A few hours later, after Honey and Tadashi exchanged extremely awkward goodbyes and the rest of the gang had left, Hiro and Tadashi set about closing up the café.

Hiro was curious, so he started the conversation. "So…Tadashi."

"Hm? What's up?" Tadashi replied nonchalantly.

"You and Honey. What's uh, what's going on there?"

Tadashi visibly tensed up at the mention of her name. "Nothing, why do you ask?" Voice much shakier than before.

"Well I mean, you two were practically rolling on the floor together earlier and-" Tadashi cut him off. "No, we were not. I slipped, and I happened to pull Honey down with me. There's nothing going on between-" Tadashi visibly saddened at the thought. _Yeah, there's nothing going on between us._ "…It was an accident." He continued.

"Uh-huh. You're telling me you didn't plan for that to happen all along?"

 _Believe me, if I had planned it I doubt it would have played out the way it did._ "No, of course not."

"Riiiiiiiight. So the lipstick that's been on your upper lip for the past few hours wasn't part of your plan?"

 _What?!_ "What?! Lipstick? You're lying. Stop messing with me."

"Am I? Go check in the mirror."

Tadashi put another chair up on a table and walked toward the mirror over the sink. His heart was pounding. _Is there really lipstick on my face? And on my mouth no less?! Hiro has to be messing with me._ Sure enough, when Tadashi got to the mirror, there was a clear rose-red stain that went from the middle of his upper lip to just under his right nostril, and slightly over onto his right cheek. He reached up to touch it, but stopped just before he did. _I…I need to remember this._ Tadashi didn't know why, but he had the overwhelming urge to record this in some way, so he did. He ran upstairs to his own bathroom and pulled out his phone. _This is so weird. So, so very weird. But…I don't want to forget this._ Tadashi put on the best smile he could and snapped a picture. He wiped the lipstick off his face and headed back downstairs. On the way back down the realization had hit him. He kissed Honey Lemon. It was an accident, sure, but still. He didn't even notice, so he figured that it didn't count.

"Where'd you run off to?" Asked Hiro as soon as Tadashi was in sight.

"Just cleaning my face."

"Ah. So you found the lipstick. Ha."

"Shut up."

 **000**

On the road toward Honey's house, Honey Lemon and Gogo were walking at a relaxed pace.

Gogo looked at Honey's face and couldn't stand it any longer.

"Honey, is your lipstick…smeared?" She knew it was smeared since before they had left the café, but she wasn't sure Honey was aware of it.

"Huh? No, it can't be." She replied.

"It looks like it is."

"Your eyes must be playing tricks on you."

"Whatever."

The pair continued walking until they reached Honey's apartment. Gogo had stored her bike there that morning, and she started to head down to the garage.

"Alright Honey, I'll see you at the nerd lab later."

"Bye Gogo! Ride safely!" _I know you won't drive safely, but I hope you'll ride safely._

"I always do!" _I may not drive safely though._

Gogo started up her bike and sped off. Honey fumbled inside her purse a bit before she finally found her keys. She struggled a bit to actually get her key into the lock, and she may have been more concerned about her smeared lipstick than she let Gogo find out. _How did it smear? What happened? Could it have been when Tadashi and I-_ her thoughts trailed off. She unlocked her door and went inside. Closing her door behind her, she flicked the light switch on her left and ran down the hall to her bathroom. She turned on the light, but she didn't look up. She was afraid to. Of what she knew she would see. _Did we really-_ She slowly lifted her head and looked her reflection in the eyes. She could see, very easily, that her lipstick was smeared, it looked like someone had drug their finger over her lips and off to the left. She knew it wasn't a finger that had smeared her lipstick though. She knew it was Tadashi's lips. She slumped down to the floor of her bathroom, cradling her head in her hands. _What am I gonna do? If my face looks like this, what did Tadashi's face look like? Surely he must have known it was my lipstick, does he hate me now? Oh no._

Meanwhile, at the Lucky Cat Café, Tadashi was staring at a picture of Honey on his computer. He had his phone open to the photo of the smeared lipstick on his own face, smiling like an idiot.

 **000**

The next morning, which just so happened to be a Saturday, Hiro awoke to Tadashi sleeping on his desk with his phone on the floor.

"Ow!"

The robot inflated, looking at Hiro and scanning him.  
"Scanning…There appears to be nothing wrong. Did you need something, Hiro?" Said Baymax in his robotic voice.

"Yes. Scan Tadashi."

"Scanning…He appears to be in his 2nd cycle of REM sleep, and has been sleeping for approximately 4 hours. His brainwave activity indicates that he is dreaming."

"Ooh, what's he dreaming about Baymax?"

"I am afraid I do not have the capability to decipher brainwaves to that degree, Hiro."

"Darn."

"I guess I'll head out for the day. Baymax, can you let me know when Tadashi wakes up? I was going to head down to the lab and then ask Gogo and Honey if they wanted to go see a movie, which is something I'm sure Tadashi wouldn't miss."

"What makes you so sure he wouldn't want to miss this get together?"

"Oh, I just know."

Hiro grabbed his bag and headed downstairs, hugging Aunt Cass and running off to the lab.  
Baymax stood behind Tadashi and picked him up, gently placing him in his bed.

 **000**

Tadashi woke up. It was mid-afternoon, sunny, but still cool and snowy. He stretched and looked over to his left.  
He almost jumped out of his bed.

Honey was sleeping next to him, the biggest smile on her face. Her hair was messy from sleeping but Tadashi was too busy wondering why she was next to him to notice. Not that he minded, he always thought she was beautiful.

"Mmh, good morning Tadashi." Honey said quietly.

"Um, morning Honey."

"What time is it, Dashi?"

 _Dashi?! What's going on here?_ Tadashi looked at his watch, it read 4:26.  
"It's about 4:30 in the afternoon. Did you just call me 'Dashi'?"

"Yeah, what about it? You've liked that name for years now. I think it's cute."

"Oh, right. I-uh, I forgot." Tadashi let out a very, very, nervous chuckle.

Honey rolled over to him, wrapping her arm over him and pulling him closer. He went rigid, unsure what was actually happening.

She moved closer and whispered directly into his ear. "You're so silly, but that's one of the many things I love about you."

Tadashi's eyes went wide. "You…You love me?"

Honey gave him a puzzled look. "Of course. Dashi, we're married."

Tadashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. _I can die happy._ "I'm just kidding with you Honey, I love you too!"

Honey pulled him closer. "You silly man."

Tadashi returned the hug enthusiastically.

 **000**

"…What is he doing?" Gogo asked.

"I…don't know." Hiro replied, at a loss for words.

In front of them, Tadashi was lying in his bed, hugging a very confused and flustered Honey Lemon.

"Guys…? Help?" Honey asked sheepishly.

"Nope." Said Hiro, backing away slightly.

"You love it. Don't pretend like you don't." Replied Gogo, popping her gum and smiling.

"That's not the point!" Whispered Honey, struggling a bit against Tadashi. _Wow he's really strong. I've never been close enough to notice before, but his arms are really toned- No! Focus, gotta get out of his grip! But it's so warm…_

Baymax stood behind Hiro, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Honey appears to be in distress, should I scan them?"

Looking sideways at Baymax, Hiro responded "Nah, I think it's pretty obvious what's happening here."

"It is? May I scan them for my databanks?"

"Eh, sure, go ahead." Hiro shrugged.

"Scanning."

"Hey!" Honey whisper-yelled.

"Scan complete. Honey's hormone levels are elevated considerably, and her face is hot, indicating increased blood flow. She is in a state of arousal. Tadashi is still in REM sleep, but the cycle is ending. He will wake up soon."

"Don't say it like that! Baymax!" Honey said as she squirmed a little harder against Tadashi's grip. Her face flushed even more.

Tadashi let out a sigh. He blinked a few times, getting the sleep out of his eyes. His mind was still in dreamland, and he wasn't all there yet. He pulled Honey closer, smelling her hair.  
"Honey, you smell amazing." He whispered.

Hiro and Gogo were trying, and failing, to not laugh at Honey's expression, which was somewhere between entirely in love and total fear. She looked like she desperately wanted to get out of his grip, but also that she wanted it to continue.

"T-T-Tadashi? Are you um…Are you awake now?" Asked Honey sheepishly.

"Yes baby. I'm awake." Said Tadashi, still half-asleep.

He pulled her closer still, making her let out a little yelp.

"Tadashi!"

"Mmh, call me Dashi again."

"Dashi?" _Wow, that's a cute nickname. I need to remember that._ "But I've never called you that before."

"What do you mean? You just called me that 10 minutes ago-" Tadashi fully opened his eyes.

He looked at her face, which was clearly flushed, then he looked down. His arms wrapped under her blouse and around her midriff, and his chin on her shoulder. His eyes opened wider when he realized what he was actually doing. He let go of Honey, slipping off his bed and onto the floor. Exclaiming different apologies on his way down.

"Ow." He said, legs up in the air and shirt riding up his chest.

"You said 'ow,' are you in pain? Please describe the injury. On a scale of 1-10 please rate your pain."

"I'm fine, Baymax, I just bumped my head."

"Head injuries are most dangerous, please let me scan you."

Tadashi sighed. "Okay, fine. Scan me."

"Scan complete. You have a small bump on the back of your head that is heating up. It is not life-threatening, but proper care should be taken to avoid bruising. I recommend a cold compress. Other than that, you are in perfect health."

"Thanks Baymax. I am satisfied with my care."

Baymax nodded and waddled over to his recharging station, deactivating and shrinking to fit the small container.

Tadashi righted himself and looked at everyone. His pale skin showing the full force of his blush.

"I'm…I'm really sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

Honey was sitting on the edge of his bed, not really cowering, but still much more reserved than normal. She trusted Tadashi, but she wasn't sure how to feel at the moment.

"It's okay. I shouldn't have gotten that close." Honey said, barely above a whisper.

"Pfft. Little miss 'Let's go wake up Tadashi!' over here is trying to pretend like this wasn't her idea entirely." Said Gogo sarcastically.

"Gogo!"

"What? Woman up."

Honey's already prominent blush intensified.

"Aaaaaaanyway, the whole reason I brought you two here was to ask if you maybe wanted to go see a movie with me and Tadashi." Interrupted Hiro.

"Ohh, so that's why you brought us here. You sneaky little punk." Said Gogo playfully.

 _And I'm the one who's hiding her feelings, eh Gogo?_ Thought Honey.

"Well, what do you guys think? Wanna go?" Hiro asked to Honey and Gogo, as he already knew what Tadashi would say.

"Sure." Said Honey and Gogo in unison.

 **Well, hope you liked it! This is only the first chapter, and I've already got chapter 2 in the works. Please let me know if there's anything you guys want to see or have me add in. This is a labor of love, so I will do my best to work on it in my spare time, but I'll try to have a new chapter every 2-3 weeks or so. Thanks guys! Have a great day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Chapter 2! I tried to make this chapter a bit longer, hope you guys like it!  
As before, bolded zeroes (000) indicate a transition, and italicized text are thoughts. Enjoy!**

Tadashi and Hiro were sitting in their living room waiting for the designated meeting time to roll around. Tadashi was on his phone and Hiro was watching TV. It was 6:37, but Honey and Gogo had agreed to show up at 7, so all that was left was to just kill time.

Tadashi suddenly laughed for no reason.

"Hm? What's up?" Asked Hiro, turning away from the rerun of The X-Files he was watching.

"Honey just told me that Gogo was trying to wash her face but misjudged the water pressure. She put one of her hands under the water and turned it on, but it came shooting out and splashed all over her. She sent me a picture of one soaked and very angry Gogo." Tadashi laughed again, showing Hiro the picture.

"W-what are you showing me?!" Hiro yelled, while comically putting his hands up in front of his face.

"Dude. Relax. She was wearing all black."

Hiro slowly pulled his hands off his eyes and saw that, in fact, Gogo was wearing all black. She was soaked, but otherwise entirely decent.

"O-oh."

"You wanted to see more, huh?"

"I did not!"

"Yes you did."

"No! Tadashi!"

"Haha! I'm so telling Gogo."

"Tadashi!"

"This is payback for what you did to me earlier today!"

Tadashi began laughing uncontrollably while Hiro just sat there and sulked, sticking his tongue out at Tadashi. Hiro grumpily resumed watching his TV program while Tadashi continued his conversation with Honey.

About 20 minutes later, a little earlier than their agreed upon meet time, the girls showed up. Honey was dressed relatively casually, wearing her usual bright yellow blouse with white pants, but her headband was gone and she didn't have her glasses or her gigantic platform heels. Gogo was wearing a black jacket and long pants that reached below her ankles. She looked a lot less rugged than usual.

"Wow, uh, Gogo. You look-" Hiro started saying.

"Look what?" Gogo interrupted.

"You look great. It's different from usual, but it suits you."

"Oh, um. Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself genius." She flushed slightly.

Tadashi crossed his arms and looked at the two. Shaking his head ever so gently. _These two. What am I going to do with them?_

Honey scooted over to Tadashi quietly. She didn't get a comment from him so she moved ever closer hoping he would notice. She'd never admit that she just wanted him to call her pretty.  
Little did she know, Tadashi noticed. Oh boy, did he notice. It was taking everything he had not to just grab her by the waist and pull her into a real kiss. He'd never do that though. He's got more self-control than that, but he could at least compliment her.

"You look very beautiful tonight, Honey." Tadashi said, reddening considerably.

Honey was caught completely off-guard. She had wanted this, but she didn't expect her silly 'inch closer until he notices' plan to work.

"Oh, thank you! You look nice yourself." Honey replied, blushing as well.

Tadashi looked down at his clothes, he had changed from earlier, and was now wearing his usual grey jacket and white t-shirt with brown slacks. He looked at Honey, shrugging and gesturing to his whole body. This made Honey giggle and playfully punch his shoulder. Tadashi pretended to be hurt and grabbed the shoulder she hit, which made her laugh some more. Tadashi began to chuckle as well. Eventually they stopped and just gazed at each other, neither one seeming to notice anything else.

Hiro and Gogo were standing a few feet away simply watching the events unfolding in front of their eyes.

"So…I know Honey likes Tadashi, but…does Tadashi like Honey back?" Gogo whispered into Hiro's ear.

"Oh, definitely." Hiro whispered back.

"Sit on opposite ends to keep them together?" Gogo suggested.

"Nah, too obvious. Let's just sit together and they'll naturally do it too."

"Ooh, good idea. Nice one genius."

"Naturally."

They turned to face the two lovebirds, who were still looking at each other.

"Earth to Tadashi and Honey! Come in, I repeat, come in." Hiro said, quite loudly.

Honey jumped, and Tadashi jolted his head up, breaking eye contact with Honey.

"Yes, Hiro?" Tadashi asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Movie starts in half an hour. It's gonna take about 15 minutes to drive there, so if we want to get tickets, snacks, and seats, we'd better go now."

"Oh, right."

The four of them grabbed what they needed and turned out the lights in the café and left, locking the door behind them since Aunt Cass was out that night as well. The four of them headed to Tadashi's car and hopped in. Hiro and Gogo jumped in the backseat, while Honey got in the front seat.

"Since when did you have a car?" Asked Gogo.

"I've had it for about a year now." Tadashi chuckled. "Aunt Cass said it's safer than a bike, especially since I take Hiro to school sometimes."

"Huh. The moped was always kind of your thing. Guess it's not anymore." Gogo said, almost sadly.

"Nah, it's not like I got rid of the thing. I still have it and I do still use it from time to time. Kinda hard to just throw it away, especially since I bought it with my own money." Tadashi turned the key, starting the car. "You guys want A/C or windows?"

"It's pretty cold tonight. Let's do A/C, but flip it to the heater." Said Hiro. The rest of them agreed.

Tadashi did as Hiro suggested, and they drove off toward the theater.

 **000**

Meanwhile, Fred and Wasabi were hanging out at Fred's place, playing some videogames. Fred was having a blast, Wasabi, not so much.

"Hey, Wasabi. Where's the gang?" Fred asked, mostly as a side-question in between shooting zombies.

Wasabi, who was thoroughly disgusted by the game, replied. "Dunno. We weren't planning on hanging out tonight so I guess they all made plans and went off to go do something."

Wasabi swung the controller up in the air, mashing buttons as he did so, missing the heads of several zombies, but hitting their legs. He wasn't very good at this.

"Huh. Cool." Replied Fred.

Fred shot another zombie in the head, making Wasabi gag once more.

 **000**

Tadashi pulled into the parking lot, luckily finding a parking spot close to the entrance of the theater. The four of them got out of the car, quickly realizing that it was much colder than they had anticipated.

Tadashi pulled his jacket closer to his body, a shiver shooting up his spine. He turned to look at the others, noting that they all had jackets. Except Honey.

She was clearly freezing, her thin frame barely holding any warmth as it was, and the biting winter wind wasn't helping. _That can't be safe, it must be at least 10 below out!_ Tadashi walked toward Honey, pulling his jacket off as he did so.

Honey was shaking, her hands were rubbing her shoulders trying to stay warm. _I really wish I brought my jacket. Ugh. It's so cold._ She shivered harder. _Why are we just standing here? It's so cold._ _So. Cold._

Tadashi came up behind her, wrapping his jacket around her shoulders. _She's freezing, I can't just give her my jacket. I gotta warm her up! But…how? Ah! I know._

Tadashi tightly wrapped his jacket around her frame, then he turned her around and pulled her into the warmest hug he could give. _I hope she's warmer now._

Honey didn't know what was happening. _Tadashi! What…_ Her thoughts began to wander as her focus drifted to the newfound warmth enveloping her. She stopped caring about why it was happening as her body simply enjoyed that she was warm once more. 

"Is that better, Honey? You seemed cold." Tadashi said, as he began to pull away.

"No!" Honey grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "It's still cold. Can we stay like this while we walk to the entrance?"

Tadashi was caught off guard, but he wasn't about to object.

"Sure. I don't see why not."

The two of them began shuffling toward the theater, leaving Hiro and Gogo behind.

"Look at those two dorks." Said Gogo jokingly.

"Yeah. Those two dorks are gonna leave us behind if we don't hurry up." Replied Hiro.

"Oh, right."

With that, the four of them hurried off toward the theater.

 **000**

After purchasing their tickets, the group headed inside only to see massive lines in front of each concession stands.

"Man. This is ridiculous. How are we gonna get food AND seats in time for the movie? It starts in 15 minutes!" Said Hiro, letting out a defeated sigh.

"We could split up into pairs, one pair goes and saves four seats, and the other stands in line for snacks?" Suggested Honey.

"Hmm. That could work." Said Tadashi.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Replied Gogo.

"So, who wants to get snacks?" Asked Hiro.

"I'll go." Said Tadashi.

"Then I'll get the seats."

"I'll go with Hiro." Said Gogo.

"Then I'll stay with Tadashi." Said Honey.

"Alright, text me where you're at when you grab seats, ok Hiro?" Said Tadashi.

"Got it!"

And with that, the group split up into pairs and headed off in opposite directions.

Hiro and Gogo found some pretty good seats near the back of the theater, they saved four. Hiro texted Tadashi to let him know.

Tadashi and Honey were standing in line for the concessions and decided to make small talk.

"So, anything new in the chemistry department?" Asked Tadashi.

"Yeah, actually. I synthesized a new formula that uses nitrogen, iron, and carbon nanotubes to make little alloy spheres. They're useful for lots of things. Depending on what you soak them in, you can use them to absorb moisture, as a pesticide, as a preservative…" 

Honey continued to list uses for her new invention off at a rapid pace, but Tadashi didn't mind. He loved when she got all giddy about chemistry. He wasn't the best at it, and in fact, he didn't even particularly like chemistry, but he could listen to Honey talk about it for hours. In fact, that's how he remembers they met each other. In their 2nd year of high school, they ended up in the same chemistry class together, where they quickly became friends.

 **000**

Tadashi walked into the classroom early. Too early. It was 7:30 in the morning but class didn't start until 9. It wasn't unusual for him to be there this early, so he wasn't worried about getting in trouble with security. However, he wasn't there just for the sake of being early. It just so happened that he wasn't very fond of the subject of chemistry, so he wanted to get some reading in before the first day started. He didn't like being lost in class, so he tried his best to read the material beforehand.

He picked a desk in the back-right corner of the classroom near the storage closet. Behind him were the fume hoods and experiment areas. He sighed and stretched, opening his textbook to the first chapter.

Honey was early too, and she had similar ideas to Tadashi, but not the same motives. Unlike Tadashi, Honey absolutely loved chemistry. It had always been her passion, even as a child. She even used to design her own experiments and chemicals. She was headed to what she thought would be an empty classroom where she could get some reading done, maybe design a new experiment. She was getting giddy just thinking about it.

Tadashi on the other hand, was having a terrible time.

"I can't do this! It's so boring!" He said, leaning back in his chair and sighing.

He slammed his book shut and slumped down in his chair, putting his head in his hands.

"Why can't I just enjoy chemistry?" He said to no one in particular.

Honey was just outside at this point, and she had heard everything. She decided to open the door.

"What's wrong with chemistry?" She asked as she opened the door.

Tadashi looked up, and was immediately stunned. She was beautiful, he'd never seen a girl like her before. She was tall, much taller than he was at the time, she had long, flowing blonde hair, bright green eyes, and the most beautiful golden skin he had ever seen.

He began to stammer, "No-nothing, I just don't um…I just don't understand it." He managed to blurt out.

Honey looked at him strangely, opening her mouth to speak.

"You…don't understand chemistry?" She asked, sounding almost sad.

"N-no… I don't." He replied, feeling embarrassed. _Great, first day of sophomore year and she already thinks I'm some idiot who can't understand basic chemistry. I'm no fool, I just don't get it! She's so pretty too. Just my luck._

"I'll teach you! I love chemistry!"

"Wha-what? You'll teach me? Really?"

"Of course! Chemistry is one of my favorite subjects! It's easy, and if you know enough, you can do some pretty cool stuff with chemicals. It's so much fun!"

Tadashi was surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, but he was comforted knowing he wasn't being looked down upon. She pulled up a seat next to him and opened her textbook.

"So let's start with elements." She said, her voice clearly very happy.

Tadashi simply nodded and opened his textbook.

"Oh, goodness. I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Aiko." Honey said.

"I'm Tadashi. It's very nice to meet you, Aiko." He replied.

"Tadashi? I like that name." She replied, giving him a warm smile, and continued talking about each element in great detail. Tadashi smiled and listened intently.

 **000**

Tadashi smiled as he thought back on the memory. It was his fondest memory of high school, one he thought back to periodically so he wouldn't ever forget it.

Honey was finishing up her enthusiastic talk about her new invention, listing off the last few of the many uses she came up with, still smiling brightly. Tadashi couldn't help but feel happy.

"…and also as an abrasive for cleaning clothes. It's gonna be great!" Honey finished.

"That's pretty impressive, Honey. Did your department approve funding yet?" Tadashi asked.

"Not yet, sadly, but I submitted the application, so it's only a matter of time before I can start making them!"

"That's great! I'm so proud of you!"

"Aw, thanks. But I couldn't possibly have done it without you."

"Me? What did I do? It seems like it was entirely your idea."

"Well, about 6 months ago, I came into your lab and asked you if there were any new developments with the microbots that Hiro was working on."

"Right. I remember that."

"Mhm, anyway, you told me that the material Hiro was using was old and, quite frankly, far too expensive. So you said you were trying to come up with a solution, and you were in the process of making-"

"3D printed carbon nanotubes." Tadashi finished her sentence. "I remember now."

"Exactly! Your design just so happened to have sponge-like qualities. They could absorb 15 times their weight in liquid and could store it for far longer than any other porous substance. I combined it with a formula I had come up with for waterproofing metal, made some slight adjustments to add some other preservative properties, and voila! I had my alloy spheres."

"I had no idea I helped that much. You had asked to use them for an experiment so I just gave you full access to my notes and equipment. That's great that you could actually use it!"

Tadashi thought back to his design. He knew it wasn't perfect, and it was extremely crude. It wasn't meant to be a finished product, not by a long shot. It was hardly a prototype. He assumed that, because it was a prototype, it had flaws that just so happened to work perfectly for Honey's experiment. He wondered if there was a way to expand upon the design to make it even better suited to Honey's experiment.

"Well, I did more than use it. It saved my experiment. I'm no good at engineering, but you are, so when I applied for the R&D grant, I put both of our names on the application. You did design basically half of the finished product, after all."

"So, does that mean…"

"Yes. When the time comes, we'll have to present the product to the board of directors, where they will review the applications, interview us, and decide whether or not to approve development."

"That's amazing! But, when were you planning on telling me about this?"

"I was actually planning to tell you today. I finished the prototype product this morning, and, after testing, I ran to submit the application. I was actually going to come over and tell you but Hiro stopped me and told Gogo and I to come over anyway."

"Ah, so that's what happened. Well, I'm happy to assist you in any way I can. This sounds like it'll be a lot of fun."

The two stepped up to the cashier, looking at the menu.

"Hi! Welcome to Sanfransokyo Theaters, we're having a promotion right now, a large popcorn and drink, half price for couples. Would you two like the discount?" Asked the cashier.

Honey blushed. _Me and Tadashi? A couple?_  
She didn't see, but Tadashi was red as well.

Tadashi pulled on his collar a bit, suddenly feeling short of breath.  
"Um. Honey, what do you think? Wanna get the discount?" He finally managed to ask.

"S-sure. Sounds good." She replied.

"Great! Will the combo be all?" Asked the cashier.

"Ah, no, actually, can we get two combos and an extra drink?" Tadashi had almost forgotten about Hiro and Gogo.

"Sure! Since you two are so cute, I'll give you the discount for both combos!" Said the cashier.

Honey's blush intensified even more. She covered her face and smiled behind her hands.

"Thanks!" Said Tadashi.

"No problem! That'll be $12.50."

Tadashi handed over the money and grabbed the popcorn. Honey grabbed some serving boxes and the drink cups. She and Tadashi headed toward the drink fountains and began filling up the sodas.

"What kind of soda would you like, Tadashi?" Honey asked.

"I like fruit punch." He replied.

"Got it!" Honey began filling the large soda cup with fruit punch.

Tadashi began pouring popcorn into the boxes while Honey continued to fill the cups.

"Hey, Tadashi? What drinks do Hiro and Gogo want?" Asked Honey.

"Hmm. Hiro usually drinks coke, but I'm not sure what Gogo wants." He replied.

"Hmm. I'll text her and see what she wants."

Honey texted Gogo, asking what drink she wanted to drink. Within 10 seconds, Gogo replied.

"Looks like she wants orange soda. That was quick." Honey said, surprised.

"Nice. Orange soda. I never thought that Gogo would like that kind of thing." Tadashi replied, although it was more to himself than anyone else.

"Okay! All done, let's head inside!"

"Alrighty then."

Tadashi picked up the four boxes, stacking them on top of each other. He grabbed the cup with fruit punch in it while Honey grabbed the other two. They headed inside the theater, making their way to the back where Hiro and Gogo were sitting. Tadashi let Honey in first, and he sat on the outside. He began handing out boxes of popcorn when he realized that there were only 3 cups.

"One, two…three? Were there only 3 cups? Honey, do you remember if there were only 3?" Tadashi asked.

"Hmm… Let's see, I know that each combo came with a drink, so that's two. Plus the extra one you bought, right? That's only three." Honey replied.

"Shoot. You're right. I'm sorry, Honey. I forgot to buy you a drink."

"It's fine! Can I share with you? I like fruit punch too."

"Of course!"

The two of them settled in for the movie next to Hiro and Gogo.

 **000**

Both Tadashi and Honey took two sips from the gigantic fruit punch and never touched it again for the rest of the film, even though they clearly wanted to drink more. Hiro and Gogo saw this and laughed to each other.

The movie was a standard rom-com, Hiro was strangely interested for a boy his age, and Tadashi was way too into it. Tadashi's shoulder was wet from Honey wiping her tears on it several times, but he didn't mind. He just smiled and put his arm around her. She responded by moving closer to him. Gogo was grinning and watching them intently. Hiro was glued to the screen.

Honey cried at the end because it had a happy ending, and Tadashi even shed a lone manly tear. Gogo didn't seem to be too affected by it. Hiro was hiding in his jacket.

"Hey genius, you alright?" Asked Gogo.

"I'm fine! I'm not crying! You're crying!" Hiro yelled through his jacket, sniffling.

The group all laughed at this.

They all threw their trash away as they walked out and began heading to the car. Tadashi checked the time. It was just about 9:45. There was quite a bit of snow falling now, and it was even colder than when they had arrived. Honey pulled Tadashi's jacket tighter around her thin frame, smiling inwardly.

Tadashi was shivering, but he saw that Honey was warm, so he knew he made the right decision. He reached into his pocket used the keys to unlock the car, after which everyone quickly jumped inside. He started the car and turned the heater back on, of course everyone was grateful for this.  
They began the drive back to the café while chatting about the movie.

"And then that scene where he came back after fifteen years? My gosh, it was amazing! I was so happy for them!" Hiro said enthusiastically, wiping a stray tear from his cheek.

"You really enjoyed that movie, didn't you, Hiro?" Asked Tadashi.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Ha, you so loved that movie."

"Okay, fine, you got me. But what's wrong with being sensitive?"

Nothing at all, genius." Gogo chimed in.

"Yeah, it's perfectly fine to be sensitive, Hiro. Even Tadashi here shed a few tears!" Added Honey.

"Hey now, those were courtesy manly tears. I only did it so I wouldn't look heartless." Tadashi countered, but his joking tone took away any seriousness he may have been trying to convey.

The four erupted into raucous laughter in the car.

The lights of San Fransokyo whizzed by as Tadashi drove carefully on the snow covered roads, taking extra caution not to hit any potholes that he knew were on the route he was taking. Honey had started to doze off, as did Hiro and Gogo. Tadashi smiled to himself when he looked at Honey, he noticed that even though she was asleep, her hair was still perfect somehow, and she looked remarkably peaceful. He noticed how her skin just barely reflected the streetlights, giving her an almost ethereal glow.

She was stunningly beautiful, even when she wasn't trying to be. As intelligent as he was, he couldn't wrap his head around how she captured his attention so easily, not that he minded, of course.

The drive back was peaceful, something about driving at night relaxed him that he couldn't quite put a finger on. Maybe it was the scenery, the soft music on the radio, or the fact that Honey was there tonight, but he felt even more at ease than usual.

He pulled up to the café and turned the car off. He turned around to wake up Hiro and Gogo, but he noticed that they were both asleep on each other's shoulders. He smiled and reached for his phone to save the moment. He reached back without looking, thinking he could easily find his phone, but he hit something. Something warm. He moved his palm around thinking he was touching the soft cover on his dashboard, which had been warmed up by the heater.

He quickly realized he was wrong when he heard a gasp. He snapped his head around only to see Honey's red face and his hand on her stomach, dangerously close to her chest. She was leaning back against the dashboard with Tadashi's jacket in her hands.

"H-Honey! When did you get up?" Tadashi whispered.

"J-just a little while ago. Did I startle you?" She whispered back.

"No not at all I just…You didn't make any noise! How did you do that?"

"I was about to give you your jacket back but then…this happened…and…" Her face got even redder. "C-could you please move your hand?" _It's really cold, and your hand is really warm. Please hold me, I'm freezing._

"Agh! I'm sorry!" He pulled his hand away quickly. He noticed that his hand smelled like vanilla and honey. _She smells amazing, as usual… I wonder if she'd let me hold her…_

Hiro and Gogo slowly began to wake up, as Hiro raised his head, Gogo fell into his lap, where she promptly fell asleep again. Hiros head fell back against the chair, where he slipped back into dreamland as well. This movement made quite a bit of noise, which snapped Honey and Tadashi out of their stupor.

"Umm, maybe we should head inside. We'll freeze out here in the car." Tadashi said, loud enough to wake up Hiro and Gogo.

The two sleepyheads woke up, and everyone walked quickly into the café, where the central heating was chugging away, making it a comfortable temperature. Everyone walked inside and slumped down onto one of the many chairs in the main area.

Tadashi turned on the TV for some white noise.

"Anyone want anything to eat? We have some leftovers I can heat up." He asked, walking towards the kitchen.

"I'll have a pizza roll!" Hiro shouted.

"Do you have any cake?" Honey asked.

"I'll have a pizza roll too." Gogo chimed in.

"Got it!" Tadashi called back from the kitchen.

Tadashi went to the back of the kitchen and opened the fridge.

 _No cake. No surprise there, but we do have pizza rolls. I'll try and make something for Honey, can't leave her out. Oh, I know! Maybe I can make her a single serving pineapple upside-down cake, since she didn't get one last time, or I could just make a big one and save it for later…Yeah! That's a good idea. I like those too._

Tadashi grabbed two large pizza rolls and preheated the oven.  
He grabbed some eggs, milk, sugar, flour, baking powder and assorted spices and set to work.

He cut the pineapple and set it on the side. Mixing the dry ingredients first, he whisked everything in a bowl, adding the eggs and milk slowly. He opened a can of pineapple juice and began slowly whisking it into the batter, but only about a quarter of the can ended up inside. He then diced up a few chunks of the pineapple and stirred them into the batter as well.

The oven beeped, indicating that it was finally preheated. _Ah, perfect. The rolls should be done by the time I have to put the cake in if I put them in now._ He put the rolls on a baking tray and slid them into the 350 degree oven.

He then pulled out a cast iron skillet and put it on the stove, turning on the fire. He dropped half a stick of butter into the skillet and let it melt. He sprinkled cinnamon and just a touch of nutmeg into the melted butter. He stirred in about a cup of brown sugar to get extra caramelization, and let it sit on low heat. He grabbed the circular pineapple slices and laid them in the skillet, side by side until it was covered. He dropped maraschino cherries into the holes in the pineapple slices.  
Pulling it off the heat, he set it to the side to cool and harden. He reached for his batter and poured it into the skillet slowly.

Checking the pizza rolls, he noticed that they were just about golden brown, and pulled them out.

 _Ha, perfect timing!_

He slid the skillet into the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes. He put the two pizza rolls onto a plate and headed out to give them to Hiro and Gogo.

 **000**

"What's he doing? It takes like 3 minutes to microwave a pizza roll." Hiro sighed, talking to no one in particular.

"It's ready!" Tadashi said, popping out of the kitchen with the pizza rolls.

Tadashi set the plate on the table in front of Hiro and Gogo.

"Di-did you bake them? Again? Tadashi, you're not supposed to do that!" Hiro said, more surprised than anything else.

"Yep! I think they taste better this way! Also the insides aren't molten lava when you cook them this way." Tadashi answered, smiling.

"Did you have any cake, Tadashi?" Honey asked, tilting her head to the side, her hair falling down her shoulder ever so slightly.

Tadashi looked at her and swallowed the lump in his throat. "No, sorry Honey. But I did start baking a-"

A loud droning noise suddenly erupted from the TV, pulling everyone's attention to the screen.

"Attention." A loud, monotone voice said. "A sudden blizzard has stopped all traffic in San Fransokyo, temperatures have dropped to minus 15 centigrade and winds have surpassed 100 kilometers per hour. It is not safe outside, please remain indoors until further notice."

The voice continued to repeat the information while the group exchanged worried glances.

"What are we going to do Gogo? We have nowhere to stay!" Honey exclaimed, a worried look on her face.

Tadashi snapped out of his shocked state and glared at the TV for interrupting him, even though he knew it didn't care. "You guys can stay here for tonight, it's safe, and we have enough space. Hiro and I will sleep on the couches upstairs. You two can have our beds. Right, Hiro?"

Hiro, who obviously didn't care about the freak blizzard, was midway into a bite of his pizza roll. "Huh? Oh, yeah that's cool. Totally." He managed to spit out, crumbs falling all over his shirt. Gogo watched him and giggled.

Tadashi smiled, looking at Honey. "How about that? Bunch of college students having a sleepover? We could build the most epic pillow forts, and we don't even have to go to sleep since we still have a couple weeks of break left! It's gonna be amazing!"

Honey couldn't help but giggle at Tadashi's enthusiasm. "Sure, that sounds great!" She replied, smiling ear to ear.

Tadashi stood up. "Great! I'll be back, wait here."

He turned and walked back into the kitchen. The whole kitchen smelled like sweet pineapple. He checked the timer on the oven, and noted that it had about 15 minutes left. He sat down on a chair and waited.

 **A/N I hope you guys liked that chapter! I'm so sorry I took so long! Thanks for reading! I'll do my best to get the next chapter out quicker! As before, please let me know if there's anything I should change! See you all next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Sorry this chapter took me so long guys! I was really swamped with university stuff and life in general. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out sooner, but no promises, okay? Thanks for reading!  
As usual, Bolded zeroes indicate transitions.  
Italics indicate thoughts.  
Enjoy the chapter! **

Tadashi sat on the stool quietly, alone with his thoughts.

 _I hope she likes the cake I made, I know it's her favorite. I wonder if she'll notice the honey I added to the syrup? I hope so. What if she doesn't like it? Oh c'mon Tadashi. Pull yourself together, stop being ridiculous. Shoot! The timer went off!_

Tadashi stood up quickly, grabbing his oven mitts and pulling the oven open.

A heavenly scent filled the kitchen. Cinnamon, pineapple, and the smell of baked cake all intermingling in his nose to create a symphony of smells that nearly brought him to his knees.

 _Oh, that smells amazing. If I do say so myself._

Tadashi pulled the cake out of the oven and set it on the stove to cool. He pulled out a wooden cutting board and set it on the side. Shutting off the oven, he placed the cutting board over the top of the skillet, and gently flipped it over, letting the cake ease out of the pan on its own.

It had cooked just the way he had hoped, the cake was spongy through and through, the pineapples were cooked, but still soft, and the syrup was just barely caramelized, oozing down the sides. He smelled the sweet scent of warm honey and sugar as he cut a piece off.

Outside, the storm got worse. The wind whipped through the streets, shearing off tree branches and blanketing the world in a thick layer of snow. Honey shivered just thinking about it, despite the warmth inside of the café.

Inside the kitchen, Tadashi put a slice of cake onto a plate, and poured some hot cocoa for everyone.

He walked out of the kitchen, placing the plate in front of Honey, and the four cups of hot cocoa on the table next to them.

"One slice of pineapple upside-down cake for the lady, and hot cocoa for everyone." Tadashi said with a smile.

Honey looked at the cake, marveling at the color and smell. It was golden browned to perfection, the pineapple on top was caramelized perfectly, and the cake was still very fluffy. She simply stared at it, unwilling to even take a bite.

"Tadashi, did you…make this?" Honey asked, out of curiosity. _This is way too nice to be a cake Aunt Cass made in a hurry. Not that her cakes aren't great, this one just looks…too nice._

"I did, we ran out of cake so I whipped it together quickly. I hope it tastes okay." _She's not eating it, oh no._

As if on cue, Honey took her fork and cut a small piece off the cake. Gently placing it in her mouth. Immediately, her taste buds were given a burst of flavor, the syrup was sweet, but not overpoweringly, and the cake was still very fluffy, but crisp enough on the outside to stop the syrup from soaking through too far. The pineapple was caramelized just enough, soft and supple, with just a hint of crunch. It was amazing. Honey couldn't contain the sigh she let out after tasting it.

When Honey realized her sigh was very clearly audible, she flushed bright red and covered her mouth.

Hiro, who hadn't been really paying much attention to anything but his, now eaten, pizza roll, looked up to find the source of the noise Honey made.

"What was that?" Hiro asked, to no one in particular.

"Nothing!" Honey answered, perhaps a little too eagerly.

"Huh…Could've sworn I heard something. Whatever."

Honey relaxed, looking up to see the smiling face of Tadashi, who was positively beaming after he realized her reaction was because of his cake.  
Honey flushed even more, taking another quiet bite.

"Thank you, Tadashi. It's delicious." She said sheepishly.

"You're welcome, Honey. I'm glad you like it." He responded.

"Tadaaaashiii! I'm still hungry!" Hiro called from his table.

"And what am I supposed to do about that?" Tadashi replied back, jokingly.

"Make me another pizza roll? Please?"

"Fine." Tadashi sighed. "Sorry Honey, I gotta appease the little brother."

"No problem." Honey giggled.

Tadashi turned around and waved dramatically as he headed back into the kitchen, causing Honey to giggle once more.

Gogo snuck up behind her, waiting for her to stop giggling to herself.

"You are so lovestruck." Gogo said into Honey's ear, making her jump.

"I- I am not! Gogo! Keep it down, he'll hear you!" Honey protested.

"So? He'd have to be in some serious denial to not notice you flirting with him every time you two are near each other."

Honey simply began to pout. The more she thought about it the more she realized that every time she was around Tadashi, she was, indeed, flirting with him.

 _Gogo isn't wrong, but I can't tell her that! She'll never let me live it down!_

"So, you finally realize that I'm right?" Gogo teased.

"I-" Honey cleared her throat. "I can neither confirm nor deny your accusations, miss." She said, jokingly, trying to keep a straight face.

Gogo and Honey began laughing loudly, just as Tadashi walked out of the kitchen with another pizza roll for Hiro.

"Here you go Hiro, one pizza roll. Nuked to boiling hot perfection." Tadashi sighed.

"Nice. Thanks Tadashi!" replied Hiro.

Hiro bit into the pizza roll with a vengeance, only to recoil backwards screaming when the filling burned his tongue.

"AAAAHH! Hot! Hot! Too hot!" Hiro screamed as he jumped up and down inhaling and exhaling as fast as he could to try and cool off his mouth.

Everyone laughed at this display, even Hiro.

 **000**

Tadashi cleaned up the kitchen, washing the pans, bowls and utensils he used, as well as putting the leftover cake away in the refrigerator. He sighed happily as he finished up and shut off the lights, thinking about how happy Honey was when she ate the cake. _I wonder if I can make her that happy every day?_

Tadashi stepped out into the now empty café, shutting off the lights and heading up the stairs to the second floor where the others were gathered. He rounded the corner only to see Hiro and Gogo throwing pillows at each other with Honey laughing hysterically on the couch.

"What's going on here?" Tadashi chuckled.

"I will defeat you!" Hiro said in a mock superhero voice.

"Never! I'm too fast for you, genius!" Gogo yelled back, just as enthusiastically.

"What's…going on here? Honey?" Tadashi asked, looking at Honey.

"Well, they wanted to make a pillow fort, but Hiro accidentally hit Gogo with one, causing her to retaliate, and well, the rest is history." Honey said through bouts of laughter.

Tadashi looked at them, crossed his arms and smiled. _So silly._ He walked towards the couch and flopped against it, back-first, near Honey.

"So, pillow forts huh?" He asked, facing Honey.

Honey smiled at him, still giggling at Hiro and Gogo, who were now both on the floor, clearly exhausted. "Of course. What else would we do?" She replied.

"You make a great point, but, we have blankets and bigger pillows. Couch pillows hardly make for a respectable fort."

"Is that so?" Honey smiled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get the better pillows and some blankets."

"Yes ma'am." Tadashi responded, smiling.

Honey and Tadashi got up and walked toward the stairs leading up to Tadashi and Hiro's room.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Tadashi opened the door, gesturing his arm into the room.

 **000**

"Hey." Hiro said, panting. "Where'd Tadashi and Honey go?"

"Dunno." Gogo replied, panting as well. "I think they went upstairs."

"Oh, okay."

Hiro sat up slowly, still breathing heavily. Gogo did the same, but leaned against Hiro, both of them drenched in sweat. Hiro took notice, but even though he was sure he was blushing, his face was already flushed from exertion, so he knew Gogo didn't notice, but Hiro hadn't noticed that Gogo was feeling the same way. A small smile made its way onto her face,

They sat there like that, shoulder to shoulder, quietly, for what seemed like forever.

All the while the wind whipped at the window, the snow making a slight tapping against the glass.

 **000**

Tadashi and Honey grabbed a few of the larger blankets along with a giant 3-segment futon and some pillows. They put the pillows and blankets on top of the futon and grabbed it lengthwise on opposite ends, making their way down the stairs.

Rounding the corner first, Tadashi smiled inwardly at what he saw.

Hiro and Gogo were both sitting on the floor, leaning against each other and facing the window.

Tadashi turned his head around and whispered. "Psst. Honey! Look!" He gestured with his head toward the two. Honey responded with a light gasp and a smile. The two of them continued down the stairs and toward the couch, dropping the futon on it.

Hiro and Gogo both jolted upright, looking at the couch with the futon on it.

"You're both pretty sweaty. Maybe you should shower." Tadashi suggested, arms crossed over his chest, but a big smile on his face.

Hiro knew that the warmth in his cheeks wasn't from exertion now.

Gogo chimed in, her face red as well. "I would shower, but I didn't bring any spare clothes."

Tadashi, without missing a beat, said, "Hiro, your clothes should fit her, right?"

"Probably, but I don't think she wants to wear my clothes." Hiro replied.

"I don't mind. As long as they're clean." Gogo said.

"Well, alright then. What about Honey? I'm sure she wants to shower too, and she won't fit my clothes."

"That's a good point." Tadashi mumbled. "I can let her borrow some of mine! My clothes might be a little big, but she should fit them. That okay with you, Honey?"

Honey was sitting on the couch, blushing madly. _Tadashi's clothes? I have to wear Tadashi's clothes?! I don't mind, but…_

"Honey?" she snapped back to her senses after hearing Tadashi's voice. "Would you be okay with that?"

"U-um, yes. That sounds fine." She managed to say.

"Then it's settled! We'll all take turns showering while the rest of us build this fort." Tadashi declared.

 **000**

After Tadashi and Hiro had both went and grabbed spare clothes for the girls to change into, they came down and began assembling the fort. Gogo went to shower first.

The other three were sitting down, trying to figure out how to build the fort.

"I feel like the base should be the futon, since it's so big." Hiro suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Honey mused, hand on her chin.

"Maybe we should put it right up against the couch, we can use it like a wall, and it'll keep the warmth in." said Tadashi.

"We're gonna need more pillows if we actually want it to be…well, a fort. As it is, it's just gonna be a pile of blankets and a few pillows." Hiro mentioned.

Tadashi placed his hand on his chin, pointer finger covering his mouth. "I suppose you're right." He finally sighed. "I didn't want to bring down that many pillows, but I guess it can't be helped. Eh, should be more fun anyway."

Tadashi bolted back upstairs and came back down with six massive pillows, three under each arm.

"Think this is good enough?" Tadashi asked.

Hiro gave him a thumbs up, Honey just smiled and nodded.

With their building materials laid out, the group got to work on building the fort.

With the 6 extra pillows Tadashi brought down, they had a total of 10 huge pillows with which they were planning to make the wall around the futon.

They placed the futon down, pushing it right up against the couch, and set to work on the walls.

The walls were easy, two pillows stacked on top of each other for each segment, and 2 segments on each side, save for the front, which would only require two pillows placed sideways to make a wall the same height. Then they draped the blankets over the walls and placed a few inside the fort. They took a step back and admired their work.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Tadashi stated.

"Indeed." Hiro agreed.

"Looks cozy." Honey added.

"Yep" Both boys said in unison.

As they were standing there, Gogo came down the stairs.

"Whatcha guys doing?" She asked, still chewing gum, for whatever reason.

Hiro turned around to answer. "We just finished the fort! What do you think Gogo? Pretty cool hu-" Hiro stopped midsentence when he finally saw what was standing in front of him. 

Gogo, wearing his shirt, which fit surprisingly well, and a pair of baggy basketball shorts. Her hair was still wet, but it was covered lightly in a towel, and her face still had slight condensation on it from the heat of the shower. Hiro was speechless, and his jaw was practically on the floor.

Tadashi took one look at Hiro and laughed.  
"Hiro, your jaw is this way." He chuckled, motioning off to the side.

Honey and Gogo chuckled at this. Hiro flushed bright red. Gogo was blushing as well, but because she had just got out of the shower her whole face was red from the heat, and she was thankful no one could tell.

"Well, anyway. You look really cute, Gogo. Have a look at the fort we made." Hiro finally managed to say.

Gogo smirked slightly and knew that she was blushing madly now. She tried to play it off and moved over to the fort, pretending to inspect it thoroughly.

Honey was holding back her laughter to the best of her ability, as was Tadashi, but they were both failing miserably, as clearly evidenced by the snorts and chuckles that were escaping their mouths.

Gogo pretended not to notice.

Hiro was trying to keep his cool, but he wasn't doing so well either. Eventually he gave up and just laughed along with them. Gogo followed suit.

The four of them laughed together for a little while, eventually settling down and sitting in a group on the floor.

"Well, who wants to go shower next?" Asked Tadashi.

"I'll go." Replied Hiro. "Anyone else want to go before me?"

"Nope." "Nah." "No thanks." Said Gogo, Tadashi and Honey, respectively. Although Gogo was mostly joking.

Hiro stood up and headed up to the bathroom.

 **000**

The remaining three decided that, since it was cold, and they weren't really dirty from the day's events, that they would use the fort. It was slightly colder than before, but they central heating made it more bearable if they used some blankets.

"So does that fireplace work?" Gogo asked, gesturing toward the fireplace near the back of the room, straight in front of the entrance to the fort.

"Yeah, it works. We don't really use it since the central heating is good enough most of the time." Tadashi responded, stretching his back against the front of the couch.

"You guys have firewood? Y'know, just in case the heating ends up not being enough?"

"Yep. In that closet next to the staircase we have some wood from the store. Enough for tonight at least, should we need it."

"Ah, cool, cool."

Honey was sprawled out on the futon, her head on a folded blanket, left leg wrapped around another blanket, and her hair in her face.

Tadashi looked at her, a small smile forming on his face. _Man, she looks so cute like that._  
Just before he lost himself staring at her, Gogo spoke.

"You guys wanna do anything? Board games? Charades? Scary stories?"

"Sure. We've got board games, but I don't really like charades, and neither does Hiro. I know a few scary stori-" Tadashi was interrupted by a whoosh of air next to his head.

Honey shot up, her hair whipping back, revealing her face. "Scary stories? Did someone say scary stories?! I love scary stories!" She squealed with delight.

"I-uh. Yeah, we can tell scary stories." Gogo replied, a little shocked at Honey's enthusiasm.  
 _She hates scary stories, and so do I. Why did I suggest that? Why did she suggest that?!_

"Let's all shower first. I don't want to be that guy going up there alone after hearing a scary story." Tadashi said.

"Aw, is big bro Tadashi scared?" Gogo joked.

"No! I mean…" Tadashi cleared his throat. "No. I'm not scared."

"It's okay Tadashi! That's why they're called 'scary' stories!" Honey said, trying to comfort him. _He's so cute! Ugh, this was a great idea! Good job Aiko!_

Honey was practically shaking with anticipation.

 **000**

Tadashi had just finished his shower. Despite his protests, Honey didn't allow him to let her go first. He felt awkward, but he knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

He walked down the stairs and sat on the couch.

"Okay, you can go now Honey."

"Okay! Thanks Tadashi!"

Honey stood and headed upstairs to shower.

Both Hiro and Gogo looked at Tadashi with knowing eyes. Tadashi looked back at them confusedly, tilting his head to the side slightly and raising an eyebrow.

Hiro and Gogo exchanged a knowing glance and laughed.

Tadashi sat there, even more confused than before. _What are they laughing at? Am I missing something here?_

They three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, before Gogo couldn't take it anymore.

Argh! Can we please do something? Contrary to popular belief, the paint on your walls is no longer drying, and is therefore booooring." Gogo sighed loudly.

"We can't! We have to wait for Honey, remember?" Tadashi responded, quicker than he had expected to.

Gogo only sighed harder, rolling over and letting out an exasperated "Fine." Pressing her face into a pillow she stole from inside the fort.

Tadashi chuckled and glanced at Hiro, who was sitting a ridiculous distance from Gogo.

"Hiro, why are you all the way over here?" He asked.

"No reason." Hiro replied, rushing out the words so quickly that Tadashi barely made out what he said.

"Uh-huh…" Tadashi said, looking onward quizzically.

The three of them sat in relative silence for a good while, save for Gogo's sighing every few minutes. In doing so, they quickly realized that Honey's presence was what kept them happy and talking. Without her, everything was just bland, boring and empty.

They all missed her presence, even though she was literally right up the stairs. They underestimated how much she could truly brighten up a room.

Honey just so happened to be coming down the stairs at that moment.

She rounded the corner, smiling brightly.

"Hey guys! You all look so bored, what's wrong?" She asked in her usual cheery voice.

Tadashi looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak. But this time, it was his turn to have his jaw fall to the floor.

Honey was just standing there innocuously. Her long hair in a towel, Tadashi's shirt hanging loosely off one shoulder and covering only about half of her stomach, the pants fitting loosely, but hugging her waist because of the drawstring. Tadashi was speechless, much like Hiro was earlier.

Hiro spoke first.

"So, do all girls do that hair-in-the-towel thing after they shower?"

"Not all, but every one that I've met does." Honey responded.

"Yup." Gogo said, punctuating her one-word response by popping her gum.

Honey sat down next to Tadashi, grabbing a blanket.

Tadashi took a deep breath. "I guess I'll start with my scary story then. This happened to me back in high school, it was Halloween of my freshman year, and unbeknownst to me, I had been locked inside the school."

 **000**

Tadashi walked down the halls of San Fransokyo High, it was late at night, maybe about 7 or 8. He had been in the library all day working on a research paper for his biology class. He was extremely tired, and just wanted to go home.

He knew Hiro had been waiting for him all day, and he felt bad that he hadn't gone to see his little brother read his book report to his class, but he couldn't do anything about it now.

He continued walking down the hall to his locker, intending to put his books away and grab his backpack, when he heard a noise.

The noise wasn't loud, and it wasn't jarring. It was somewhat of a whisper, barely audible, but definitely there.

"Leave this place."

 _What in the world…?_

Tadashi hurriedly grabbed his backpack, dropped his books in the locker and decided it was time to get out of there.

Tadashi began walking down the long, dark hallway.

He was halfway down the hall when he heard the sound again.

"Leave this place. You are not welcome here."

And again, it was hardly even a whisper. If Tadashi hadn't been so alert, he wouldn't have even heard it.

Tadashi walked faster, hoping to find the front door soon. He had broken out into a cold sweat. While he did believe that there was a logical explanation for what was happening, a prank or maybe his imagination, he couldn't think of a fully logical reason at the moment.

Tadashi was scared. He noted that the temperature had dropped considerably, even though it was still warm outside.

His breath began showing up in front of his face, and now he was in a state of full blown panic. His legs couldn't carry him forward fast enough, and with each step, his legs got heavier, his breathing more labored, and the door, farther.

He sprinted as hard as he could, hoping that he'd reach the door in the last burst.

His feet slammed on the ground, echoing through the empty halls, but the voice got louder, angrier.

"You shouldn't be here!"

The voice was practically screaming in his ears.

 _Faster! Faster! Faster!_

Tadashi's legs gave out.

He tumbled, tripping over his own feet, rolling and sliding down the hall. He stopped when he collided with the trophy case, cracking the glass and causing all the trophies to fall around him.

His eyelids were heavy, he was in a lot of pain, and his breathing was labored. His vision was obstructed by sweat and tears, and he had bit his cheek, causing some blood to pool in his mouth.

 _Copper. That's what blood tastes like, huh. I figured. Never thought I would find out this way though._

His eyes were heavy, but he still had some fight left in him. He pushed up off the ground, grinding his hands on the broken glass, drawing some blood.

"Well? Is that all you've got? You got me! I can't go anywhere else!" Tadashi yelled at the darkness surrounding him. "My legs won't run anymore, and I've exhausted myself! Come get me now!"

In the darkness of the hallway, a figure approached. It was small in stature, perhaps no more than 4 feet tall. It was humanoid in shape, but all Tadashi could make out was some hair and the vague outline of the body. The lights inside the trophy case only illuminated a small area in front of it with dim light, and the figure had stopped at the edge of it.

It wasn't wearing shoes.

That was the first thing Tadashi noticed once he could see it.

Its skin was unbelievably pale. If someone had told him it was painted white, he probably would have believed them.

It stepped closer. Its thighs now illuminated by the dim light.

Tadashi looked at it, confused, his body too weak to register fear any more. It stepped closer.

Its clothes were tattered, holes in both the ruined pants and ragged shirt.

Then he saw its face.

Its mouth was open, hanging, missing teeth. Looking into it, all he saw was darkness, like its mouth was pulling in any light around it and erasing it from existence. Its eyes were similar, sunken, lifeless, and entirely black.

Tadashi's anger disappeared and was immediately replaced by complete and utter fear, which quickly gave way into panic.

He fell backwards, landing on his rear end, and began shuffling away. His hands being cut up by the glass shards in the process.

"Wha-what? What are you?" He managed to stammer.

The creature opened its mouth wider, revealing yellowed, dagger-like teeth.

A voice, deep and multi-layered, sounding like 3 or four voices at once, came bellowing out.

"I am the guardian of this place. You are not welcome. And you must be punished."

"Wait-wait, punished?! Guardian? What are you taking about?"

"Fool!" It bellowed. "You did not heed my warnings. I gave you many chances."

Tadashi thought back to his clear disregard of the voices he heard as he was walking through the halls.

The creature stepped closer, lifting its hand up, grabbing Tadashi's shirt and lifting him up.

It pulled its opposite hand back, flying it at Tadashi's face.

Tadashi closed his eyes, fearing what was to come.

But there was no pain. There wasn't even an impact.

His eyes shot open, but he wasn't on the ground in front of the trophy case. He was in the library, his head on a desk, and his books around him. The sun was still up, but he was alone.

He checked his watch; 5:15 PM. The sun would be setting soon. He cupped his face in his hands, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

 _What was that? Why would I dream that?_

Tadashi sighed, stood up and packed his books away, returning ones from the library to their original places. He grabbed his backpack and pushed his chair in, walking out of the library.

Tadashi walked down the stairs and made his way to the front of the school. His pace was quicker than usual, due in no small part to his disturbing dream.

He finally made it to the front door, which just so happened to be in front of the trophy case.

He shuddered at the sight of it.

Opening the front door, Tadashi walked out, feeling a chill run up his spine.

Just before the door closed behind him, he heard a voice, raspy and almost silent.

"Not. Welcome." 

**000**

Tadashi looked around the room, gauging everyone's reactions.

Honey was hiding behind Gogo with a blanket over her face, Hiro was next to her, hiding behind the blanket as well. Gogo was sitting casually, chewing her gum.

Tadashi knew that Honey and Gogo hated scary stories, so Honey's reaction was understandable, but Gogo's confused him. He really thought that it would scare her.

"Not bad, Tadashi. Could have been better, but not bad." Gogo said.

"I thought you hated scary stories?" Tadashi asked.

"Yeah, but that wasn't that scary. I went to the same high school as you and Honey, remember? I know which area you were talking about, and even in the dark, it wouldn't be that scary."

"Well," Tadashi paused. "I suppose. But it's true! It actually happened!"

"Yeah, yeah, if you say so."

Tadashi hung his head comically. "Oh well, anyone else have a story?"

Hiro popped out from behind the blanket.

"I have one!" He said.

"Well let's hear it!" Tadashi encouraged.

 **000**  
Hiro told his story, Honey insisted that she didn't have one, and Gogo went last.

"…And some even say that it still wanders the woods to this day!" Gogo punctuated her final sentence with a scary gesture, arms raised above her head, hands scrunched into claws.

Honey was hiding behind Tadashi as usual, but Hiro and Tadashi sat stoically, arms crossed over their chests.

"Is that it?" Tadashi asked.

"Yeah, that wasn't scary." Hiro added.

Honey blinked away some tears. _Not scary?! What are they talking about? That was terrifying!_

"Well, I think we're done for tonight, it's getting late." Tadashi said. "I'll turn out the lights so we can get some sleep."

Tadashi stood up and headed for the light switch.

He was halfway across the room when he heard a loud crash. Then the lights went out.

So did the central heating.

He ran over to the window and saw that the lights around the city had gone out. _The storm must have knocked out the power. Oh well._

Tadashi was extremely calm, but Honey on the other hand, was beginning to freak out.

The scary stories everyone was telling got the best of her, and she was terrified. Being in total darkness was not high on her list of things she wanted to be doing right now.

"Well, I guess we can't do anything about the power for now guys." He said, trying to comfort Honey, who he could hear whimpering quietly. "It's gonna get really cold real fast, so just grab a bunch of blankets and try to get some sleep."

Tadashi walked back to the fort, feeling his way with his hands. He made contact with the pillow wall, and felt his way to the entrance.

Honey was moving slowly toward the middle of the fort, hoping to bump into someone, she was scared and on autopilot.

Tadashi reached into the fort and got down on his hands and knees. He began crawling forward, reaching a hand into the air to make sure he didn't hit anyone.

Honey was sitting in the middle, curled up in a ball.

Hiro and Gogo were both in a corner with a blanket, falling asleep.

Tadashi waved his hand out in front of him, when he brushed against something warm.

Honey screamed.

Tadashi jumped up and yelled.

Everyone freaked out.

"Honey? Is that you?" Tadashi asked, still waving his arms in front of him.

"Tadashi?! Did you brush your hand against my neck?" Honey asked back.

"Oh! So that's what that was! Yes, I'm sorry, that was me."

Honey breathed a sigh of relief.

Tadashi made his way to the back of the fort, leaning up against the couch and pulling a blanket over himself.

He could feel the temperature dropping and was not too keen on sleeping in the cold.

His eyelids felt heavy, and he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Honey was freezing and scared. The stories the others told were keeping her awake, and the darkness surrounding her wasn't helping. She was scared, and if she didn't do something, she knew she wouldn't sleep that night.

She slid back first into the couch, pulling a blanket up over herself. She scooted toward a corner, hoping that the pillows would offer some warmth.

 **000**

Tadashi woke up. He opened his eyes only to be greeted by darkness.

He wondered why he was awake since he was still so tired. Then he heard it.

A shuffling noise, coming from his left.

He whipped his head around, hoping to see something. Anything.

But he couldn't. He was scared now. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping that if it was something dangerous, that it was only a dream.

"Tadashi?" A familiar voice whispered. "Are you awake?"

He recognized the voice. It was Honey.

"Honey? Is that you?" He asked.

"Oh thank goodness. You're awake."

"What's wrong?"

"I…Um…I can't sleep. It's too cold and I'm scared."

Tadashi reached his hand out to see if she was next to him. His hand came into contact with a t-shirt, and eventually a shoulder. Tadashi pulled his hand back in shock. Honey was ice-cold.

 _Is she even using a blanket?!_

Tadashi swallowed hard. "H-Honey. You can come sleep by me if you'd like. You're freezing cold, and I wouldn't want you to get sick."

"Can I?" Honey asked tentatively. _Is he really okay with this?_

"Of course!"

Tadashi reached his arm out, pulling the blanket open. He placed his hand on her shoulder to guide her to his side. She followed without hesitation.

Honey reached his side and sat down, getting as close to him as possible.

Tadashi placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled the blanket over the two of them.

Honey was still shivering.

"Honey, sit in front of me and lean up against me." Tadashi whispered.

"Wh-why?" Honey replied, her teeth chattering.

"You're freezing, and sitting on my side won't keep you warm. Now come here."

Honey obliged and slid over his leg to sit in front of him. She leaned backward and laid her head on his chest.

She smiled and snuggled up closer to him.

Tadashi had a grin on his face as he wrapped his arms and blanket around her.

They both peacefully drifted off to sleep very quickly.

 **A/N I hope you guys liked that chapter! I was really busy over the last couple of months, so I'm really sorry I took so long to write this one. I might need to take a short break, but I already kind of have the next chapter planned out. So look forward to the next chapter around mid-May, okay?  
Thanks again guys, and please leave a review about what you liked or didn't like so I can better adapt to your tastes! After all, this story is for you guys!  
Thanks again!**


End file.
